Nature never appeals to intelligence until habit and instinct are useless. There is no intelligence where there is no need of change.
H. G. WellsRead
The past is the beginning of the beginning and all that is and has been is but the twilight of the dawn.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The past shapes our present and future, serving as a precursor to new beginnings.
This quote by H. G. Wells emphasizes the idea that the events and experiences of the past are crucial foundations for understanding the present and paving the way for the future. It suggests that every moment is a transition, where the end of one phase gives rise to the dawn of another, and encourages us to view the past not just as a series of endings but as integral to the ongoing journey of life.
Themes
PastBeginningFutureDawnTwilight
In practice
Example use cases
In a graduation speech to remind students that their experiences have shaped their journey.
More from H. G. Wells
All quotes →He spares no resource in telling of his dead inventions... Bare verbs he rarely tolerates. He splits infinitives and fills them up with adverbial stuffing. He presses the passing colloquialism into his service. His vast paragraphis sweat and struggle; the
H. G. WellsRead
It [a new world order] needs only that the governments of Britain, the United States, France, Germany, and Russia should get together in order to set up an effective control of currency, credit, production, and distribution – that is to say, an effective ‘dictatorship of prosperity,’ for the whole world. The other sixty odd States would have to join in or accommodate themselves to the over-ruling decisions of these major Powers.
H. G. WellsRead
Things that would have made fame of a less clever man seemed tricks in his hands. It is a mistake to do things too easily.
H. G. WellsRead
But I was too restless to watch long; I'm too Occidental for a long vigil. I could work at a problem for years, but to wait inactive for twenty-four hours - that's another matter.
H. G. WellsRead
The greatest task of democracy, its ritual and feast - is choice.
H. G. WellsRead
Similar quotes
If we look at the world with a deluded body and mind, we will think that our self is permanent. But if we practice correctly and return to our true self, we will realize that nothing is permanent
DogenRead
In the course of history many more people have died for their drink and their dope than have died for their religion or their country.
Aldous HuxleyRead
If you don't take a Sabbath, something is wrong. You're doing too much, you're being too much in charge. You've got to quit, one day a week, and just watch what God is doing when you're not doing anything.
Eugene H. PetersonRead
While he was in the service, in the South and in Oklahoma, he was refused service at a couple of places where he was in uniform, and was told that African Americans, blacks, Negros, were not served. And in spite of that, I've never known a man who loved this country more than my father did.
Eric HolderRead
Every returning New Yorker asks the question: Is this still my city? I have a ready answer, cloaked in obstinate despair: It is. And if it's not, I will love it all the more. I will love it to the point where it becomes mine again.
Gary ShteyngartRead
What can be seen on earth points to neither the total absence nor the obvious presence of divinity, but to the presence of a hidden God. Everything bears this mark.
Blaise PascalRead